38 EXCURSIONS IN MADEIRA 



rocks seem to have been blasted and shivered by the great con- 

 vulsion which rent the foundation strata, and at once created this 

 stupendous valley, enlarged and deepened by the action of torrents 

 which have battered it for ages. The bare cold surfaces of these 

 rocks, rising and projecting in turrets and pinnacles, is finely con- 

 trasted by the warm tints of the tufa, and the various greens of 

 the patches of vegetation which occasionally diversify them ; whilst 

 the rocky buttresses to the right are profusely covered with 

 laurel and chestnut-trees, and the torrent at the bottom rolls 

 through vineyards and gardens. The peak of Ruivo (the most 

 distant object) is distinguished by the verdure, which reaches to 

 its summit ; the crags to the right of it, called by the natives the 

 Torrinhas, or Turrets, vary the picturesque outline of the heights ; 

 the inclined summit of the Pico Ariero, which is distinguished, 

 even at the greatest distance, by the band of red tufa which colours 

 its northern base, whilst the glimpse of the sea adds to the impres- 

 sion of distance, vastness, and sublimity, so powerfully excited by 

 the whole landscape. 'I'he church of Libramente, and the cottages 

 beneath it look hke specks in the abyss, and the stillness of the 

 scene is only interi pted by the rude bells of the goats, as they 

 bound along the precipices. Plate 5. 



The singular beauty of the Coural would make every one anxious 

 to draw it ; and many I believe have attempted it, but although 

 able artists, their attempts have fallen so short of the reality, that 

 the results have never been given to the world. Travellers who 

 have no reputation as artists to sustain, and who have never pro- 

 duced drawings which would be depreciated by any subsequent 

 failure, may venture to offer the best sketches they are able to 

 make, when thoroughly convinced, that their descriptions will not 

 convey so good an idea of a scene, as even an imperfect drawing. 

 The obstacles which attend such a task, however, seem to defy 

 drawing and water colours ; and, in my opinion, the only chance of 

 doing this landscape justice, would be to place an easel on the spot 



